Hejduk related the story of how he came to sign with the German club, speaking in an exclusive interview with Goal.com<\/p>\n
“It all happened through the World Cup. Obviously, they\u2019d had their eye on me before then, through playing with the Olympic team and stuff like that, when I was younger, so it\u2019s not like they saw me one time and said, \u2018He looks like a good player and we want him\u2019.<\/p>\n
They\u2019d kept an eye on me for a while, since 1996, when I was with the Olympic team. Then we actually played against Germany in the World Cup, and I had a decent game that game. A few weeks later, I was signing a contract to go to Germany. At the time, I was out of contract with MLS, at the end of the season, so it was the prefect time for me to leave.”<\/p>\n
Germany was a long way from where Hejduk loved to surf near San Diego, but he didn’t hesitate when the offer came in.<\/p>\n
“Whenever you get a chance to play against the best in the world, you\u2019re going to take that opportunity. It was a no-brainer for me. At the time, Leverkusen was a team in the Champions League, and they were making a real push to try to win the Bundesliga.<\/p>\n
It wasn\u2019t too hard of a decision on if I wanted to go or not. Everything fit into place. I wanted to challenge myself at the highest level and Champions League, and the German Bundesliga? It doesn\u2019t get much higher than that.”<\/p>\n
However, Hejduk’s willingness to join Leverkusen didn’t make the transition an easy one. There was a language and culture gap, and more importantly, there was lot of competition for playing time.<\/p>\n
“The biggest adjustment for me probably was learning the language and understanding what it take to be a true professional in a top league and with some of the best players in the world.<\/p>\n
We had guys on the team like Ze Roberto, Lucio, Ulf Kirsten, Dimitar Berbatov, Bernd Schneider, Oliver Neuville, Nico, Robert Kovac, Jens Novotny, the list goes on and on.<\/p>\n
I could name a bunch of players – and they were all getting ready to be at the peak of their careers. Emerson was another one. It was a great opportunity for me to play with, and play against, day in and day out, with some of the best players in the world, and a lot of those guys went on to be the best in the world. So my time there was absolutely incredible.”<\/p>\n
Some of the highs Hejduk recalled were impressive achievements for Leverkusen.<\/p>\n
“We made the Champions League final one year, the German Cup final one year, and had a chance to win the Bundesliga one year – all in one year. I think that was 2000, or 2001.<\/p>\n
It doesn\u2019t get much better than that. Unfortunately, we didn\u2019t win any of those. That still kind of haunts me a bit, because just to grab one of those titles would have been very special, but to be a runner-up in those – even though I didn\u2019t play in the finals of those games, though I did play in some Champions League games and some Bundesliga games to help the team get there – but I loved it.<\/p>\n
To get the opportunity to play there was very amazing. I came back (to MLS) for different reasons, but I loved my time over there. I wouldn\u2019t take it back for the world.”<\/p>\n
Despite the struggle for playing time, Hejduk was content with his experience abroad, noting the language as his main difficulty.<\/p>\n
“The players were great. I got to play some of the most top-flight soccer in the world. Once I learned the language, it became a lot easier. The first couple of years were tough adjusting to the language barrier, and trying to speak German, but once I knew the language, I had a great time there.”<\/p>\n
One major influence in Hejduk’s time in Germany was Leverkusen coach Christoph Daum, who was very successful with Leverkusen. However, he was eventually ousted in disgrace after a cocaine abuse scandal in 2000.<\/p>\n
“Daum was the one who originally brought me there to Leverkusen. He was a great coach. Obviously, off the field he had some personal issues, but that\u2019s not for me to talk about. I can only speak to him as a coach, and he was the one who gave me the opportunity to go to such a great club. I thank him for that.<\/p>\n
It took me a while to break the lineup. It took me six months before I got in my first game there. Once I did, I think I played the last ten games of the season. We did well; eight out of those ten we won, I think. We almost set a Leverkusen record. It was just an amazing opportunity for me and I was grateful to Daum for bringing me to the club. Our trainings were great and well-organized.”<\/p>\n
It was in Germany that Hejduk experienced first hand the pressure and professionalism of the top level, something that he hadn’t known in his early career with Major League Soccer.<\/p>\n
“It\u2019s just that everything is taken a bit more seriously over there. You\u2019re under the microscope a lot more than over there. Here, it\u2019s obviously not the number one sport in the country. It\u2019s the number one sport there, so you\u2019re constantly being watched and constantly being looked at – not only the things you do on the field, but the things you do off the field as well.”<\/p>\n
There is some progress being made by MLS on that score, Hejduk believes, especially compared to when the league first started. However, the sheer scale of interest in the game in Germany still blows the American equivalent away. Players in Germany are not only recognized, but criticized and talked about constantly.<\/p>\n
“That\u2019s the biggest difference, just learning how to adjust to the pressure of the game over there, because people do know the game over there very well. Then there\u2019s pressure off the field, dealing with the media and being under the microscope 24\/7.<\/p>\n
You have to set an example. You are a role model over there, whether you like it or not. It\u2019s starting to be that way here, but that wasn\u2019t the case when I first started out and MLS first started in America. We\u2019re not the #1 sport. We kind of flew under the radar and you were able to get away with a lot more than you are over there.”<\/p>\n
Perhaps because of being something of a fish-out-of water in Germany, Hejduk became popular with many Leverkusen fans, despite his limited playing time.<\/p>\n
“I\u2019ve always been a hard worker, and the German mentality is if you do your job, you work as hard as you can, that\u2019s good. My effort, that\u2019s what\u2019s gotten me here.<\/p>\n
The way I go about on the field, that never-say-die attitude, they really appreciated that over there. Obviously, I would have liked to play in a lot more games than I did, but only 11 players can play on the field and over there, it was a constant competition.<\/p>\n
Some of those guys whose names I mentioned before, those were the guys I was competing against, so it was hard to get time on the field.<\/p>\n
But I still did, and and I played in some good games – played some Champions League games and had that experience – I also played in some key German Cup games. That was probably what the fans respected – the effort I put in and the way I went about the game. Off the field, I was a bit different for them, the laid-back surfer dude, and that attitude, I think, appealed to them, because in Germany, they don\u2019t have that too often.”<\/p>\n
It didn’t take Hejduk much time to recall his favorite moment from his days in Germany.<\/p>\n
“That probably would have to be when I scored my first goal for Leverkusen. Scoring that goal, I was actually playing up front on the right wing – I played as a forward there when I was there in a 4-3-3, and it was a few games when I had an opportunity to score and I didn\u2019t. I finally got the chance and I scored a goal.<\/p>\n
I remember I was kind of doing this little surfer dance and Ulf Kirsten came over and did a dance with me. He\u2019s a German legend, and to have him then give me a hug, and the other guys on the team hug me – that was something pretty special, something I\u2019ll always remember. Also, getting the chance to play in the Champions League and playing against the clubs like Lazio, Roma, Arsenal, some of the best teams in the world – that was something that sticks out and was really special to me.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n